Rainbow yawned loudly, earning her a look from Applejack.

“Sugarplum, ya gotta be so loud? Yer gonna wake Scoots.”

“Oh, psh. Whatever, it’s just a yawn.”

“A yawn that’d wake the dead,” Applejack mumbled as she went to her side of the bed and pulled the covers back.

Rainbow looked at herself in the mirror over the dresser and winked, whispering. “You got it, mare.”

“Why d’ya do that?”

“Because I always have?” Rainbow replied uncertainly.

“Come ta bed, let’s just get some shuteye.”

“Yeah, you mean mess up the bed some?” Rainbow smiled as she approached the bed and blew out the light.

“No, and that’s somethin’ I wanna talk about, too.”

“Ugh, why can’t we just do it instead of talkin’ about it?” Rainbow whined as she climbed into bed with a sigh of relief. “Holy sun it feels good to lay down.”

“Rainbow,” Applejack started, “do you love me?”

She snorted and rolled her eyes. “Uh, yeah. We’ve been marefriends for like, six months.”

“That don’t mean love. Do ya know what love means ta me?”

“Uh, cuddling at night and apple bucking in the day?”

“No, well, yeah, but that’s not what I mean. Ah feel like we love each other different,” Applejack said lowering the volume of her voice.

“What d’ya mean? Ah love everything about ya. From yer freckles to yer mane.”

“That’s what Ah mean, Sugarplum. Ya love mah looks, not my heart.”

Rainbow sighed and closed her eyes. “Yer the best friend anypony can have. Yer sweet, kind, helpful… Everything a pony should be. You’re,” she hesitated, “better than me and I’m lucky to even know you.”

“Rainbow Dash, why in tarnation do you think Ah’m better than you?”

“You’re not afraid.”

“Now, that’s hogwash. Ah’m afraid plenty. Timberwolves, fight’n monsters, Granny Smith,” she chuckled.

“I-I’m being serious,” Rainbow said softly.

“Oh, sorry, Sugarplum. Not used ta you bein’ serious.”

She sighed and opened her eyes. “Please,” Rainbow asked as her voice cracked slightly.

“Okay, tell Mama why you’re upset.”

A smile began to form on Rainbow’s muzzle. “You’re not afraid of… D’ya remember what I told ya forever ago, when we were in the cellar at the beginning? About my family… parents?”

“Reckon I do. They weren’t so kind to ya,” Applejack said remembering, “but don’t fret, you’re already a great mom. You’ll never be like them,” she said raising a hoof from below the sheets and placing it on Rainbow’s side.

“I know, but, I’m scared of a lot of things. What if I fail as a mother? What if I teach her the wrong things? What if, what if I die?” she said wincing and gulping.

Applejack let her hoof slide from Rainbow’s side as she looked more intently at Rainbow. “Open your eyes,” she told Rainbow. Rainbow opened her eyes and looked into the frowning face of her lover. “You gotta stop worryin’ about that stuff. Live fer now and don’t worry about the end.”

“Easier said then done. We fight monsters, we protect the town and Equestria, we’re in danger all the time. Even one failed stunt can be it.”

“Ya stop or Ah’ll slap the sense into ya,” Applejack said firmly, “look now, we just started all this motherin’. We’re doin’ fine so far and I swear that if you or me mess up, the other’ll be on ‘em. Right?”

“Yeah.”

“And remember I love ya. Now, Ah wanna hear you say something nice.”

“I don’t know what to say, Apple Tart, I’m just… Sad.”

“Why?” Applejack asked with true curiosity.

“...I, I don’t,” she looked deeply into Applejack’s emerald eyes, the light of the moon reflected slightly in her pupils, “I don’t wanna be alone. Just, let me finish,” she said placing a hoof to Applejack’s mouth.

“I don’t, can’t, be without you. My whole life I was alone, spent my time running from the truth and hiding my feelings. I realized I was scared of a lot of things when I finally gave my heart to you,” Rainbow said frowning, “and then I gave up the whole life I knew. The life I thought I wanted. The life I had made to hide behind, to sleep in the same bed as you.”

“Aww, Sugarcube, that’s-”

“Shh, I’m not done,” she whispered, “when we first started having sex it was great. It was all I wanted from you,” she watched as Applejack’s eyebrows furrowed, “then we got engaged and, I was a jerk,” she snorted in humor, “and you bucked the sense into me. We got a house.

“We got a daughter. We wasted a weekend vacation in Manehattan but made a friend. You, and our friends, helped me with my problems… And,” she choked up and closed her eyes again, “I haven’t done anything for you. All Ah’ve done is take, and Ah’m so sorry, Applejack,” she tried to fight the tears forming.

“Sugarcube, you’re not that bad.”

“Yeah,” she sniffled and shuffled her body back, “not that bad. What’ve I really done, except for zap apples, that’s helped you or anypony else?”

Applejack thought for a second then smiled nervously.

“Exactly, I, I don’t deserve you, Applejack. Why do you stay with me? Why do you let me stay with you? Why-”

A hoof covered Rainbow’s mouth this time. “Now hush or I’ll shove more than a hoof in yer craw. Ya got a long way ta go ta find a reason to help me that much. Now,” she said moving her hoof to Rainbow’s cheek, “ya know I ain’t perfect. Nopony is, not even Celestia or Luna.

“But you an’ me, we’re a team. When I need help, and it’ll happen, you’ll be there fer me before any other pony even knows I’m in trouble. Ya gotta admit though, ya save the day plenty of times when we’re out in Equestria doing stuff. Like that time ya saved Rarity from falling from Cloudsdale.”

Rainbow smiled remembering. “And I saved the Wonderbolts from crushing Rarity, got to win the competition, Celestia gave me the prize and a royal pass,” she grinned, showing her white, prefect teeth that gleamed in the moonlight, making Applejack’s heart skip a beat.

“Wh-what’s a royal pass?”

“If I ever break the law, I just show ‘em a scroll and boom, freedom. But, I wasn’t supposed to tell anypony… but I know you won’t tell.”

“Darn sure, it’s our secret. But, what kinda crime ya think’n? Wanna rob a bank?” Applejack asked, almost hopefully.

“Uh, no, Hon. Ah wasn’t planning on any crimes, and it’d only be me that gets off.”

“Oh, well shoot,” Applejack snorted in frustration, “Ah always wanted ta rob a bank… Ya know, just ta know what it’s like.”

“Heh, let’s not do that. I don’t wanna see you in a cell… Not again anyway,” Rainbow said with a light poke.

“Yeah, and I thought we weren’t bringin’ that up again.”

“Yeah, I know. So, you took down two of Twilight Sparkles shields just ‘cuz ‘a what she did. And you think I’d forget about that?”

Applejack inhaled slowly, a deep breath. “After what she did, she’s lucky I got stopped when I did.”

“Yeah, but more importantly, I learned how much ya cared. How far ya’d go to protect me.”

“Ah’d go farther than that, if I had to.”

“Applejack,” Rainbow said with a gasp before she asked seriously, “you’d, kill?”

Applejack closed her eyes and swallowed hard. “If’n Ah had to, I’d do it ta keep you and mah family safe.”

“Wow,” Rainbow whispered, “that’s intense. Hey, wanna make out?”

Applejack chuckled heartily. “Always in the mood and in a rush. Rainbow, Ah wanna talk about it, finally.”

“‘Bout what?”

“Rollin’ in the hay, ya keep puttin’ it off, don’t think Ah haven’t noticed. Sure, we’ve been goin’ at it like rabbits in springtime, but this’ important to me.”

“Fine, what?” Rainbow said rolling her eyes.

“We don’t make love,” Applejack sighed.

“Yeah, we do. We take turns even. And I got us the box of fun down there, and we always finish… almost always, but ya know it happens.”

“Yeah, and I’m not mad when you pass out before we’re done. But, Ah’ve talked to a few ponies and, what we do isn’t love makin’. Ah wanna try it.”

“Okay? So, do we have to do anything special? Is it supposed to be classic style or one of the camelsutra I found?” she winked.

Applejack gave Rainbow a ‘seriously’ look. “No. I mean we go slow and not rush ta be the first done. None ‘a the box. None ‘a the pain, or the screamin’, or the challenges while we’re goin’ at it. I just, wanna try it slow.”

“But, we just do it. It feels good and makes us feel better, why ruin that?” Rainbow asked, scooting closer until a hoof width separated their muzzles.

“Let’s try it, once.”

“Now?!” Rainbow asked loudly, startling Applejack to lean back.

“Hush! Ya darn galoot, ya wanna wake up Scoots?”

“Oh, my bad,” Rainbow said as Applejack laid back down, “but seriously, wanna try it now?”

“No, Ah’ve still gotta say somethin’ serious.”

“What’s that, my little Apple Tart?”

“Rainbow Dash, I think we’re p-”

Scootaloo screamed suddenly, startling them and making them scramble over each other to get to her room, right across the hall.

“Scoots? Darlin’ ya okay?”

“It was horrible,” Scootaloo said as tears fell from her face to the blankets that she was clutching to her chest, “h-horr-orible,” she stammered as she began to sob.

“Oh, Scoots,” Rainbow said flying and landing to her right while Applejack climbed the bed to the left. They wrapped her in a tandem hug, Rainbow placed her head over Scootaloo’s while Applejack stroked the filly’s mane.

“Sugardrop, tell us what happened. It’s only a dream and it can’t hurt you.”

Scootaloo sniffled. “It was, terrible, mommy. I saw horrible things, and scary things…”

“Tell us, nothing will scare us, we’re heroes, afterall.”

“That’s right, Sugar, we’ve fought monsters, timberwolves, and Nightmare Moon. Tell us so you can get this outta yer system and get a good night's rest.”

“O-okay… I saw; you promise you won’t be mad at me?”

“We promise, Scoots. We’ll love you no matter what.”

Scootaloo sighed at Rainbow’s reaffirmation. “Death,” Scootaloo whispered, “I saw cities burning, ponies were… melting, but their bones were there,” she began to sniffle again, which turned to a sob as Applejack and Rainbow moved their heads up and looked into each other’s faces.

The fear in their expressions screamed that they didn’t know what to do. As Scootaloo cried softly, holding into Rainbow; Applejack and Rainbow were mouthing words, trying to figure out what to say to a filly that had had such a nightmare.

“I saw an orange stallion,” Scootaloo said, gathering the undivided attention of the mares, “he had five ponies with him. All earth ponies and they were all mean looking,” Scootaloo said as she wiped her eyes as she pulled away and turned to hold onto Applejack, “they were evil, mommy’s, and they laughed.

“Then, I woke up. What do you think it means?”

“Oh, Sugarcube. It was just a dream, a horrible dream, but still a dream, my little filly. Here, lay down and we’ll stay right here… Okay, let’s go back to our room; it’ll feel safer fer us all.”

A few minutes later they had all snuggled into the large bed, Scootaloo between her mother’s. She was laying on her back and had the mares’ forelimbs crossed over her, keeping her safe.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash whispered back and forth for a while before deciding it was only the nightmare of a filly. Finally going to sleep, they all had sweet dreams, but the thought lingered when they woke the next morning; why did Scootaloo have such a vivid nightmare?

Meh, it was nothing, they figured. Just a one time thing; if it happened again, they’d have direct access to the princess of the night for help...

Next Chapter: A mother's advice Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 21 Minutes